Before the captive regained consciousness, Gordon and Barbara, along with Felicity, slowly made their way over. It wasn't that they didn't want to hurry, but they simply didn't have the energy for it.
"Hey, are you okay?" Thea patted Felicity's cheek gently.
"I'm fine, just a bit swollen. Do you know why the thugs wanted to hit my face?" Felicity's eyes were filled with confusion.
Thea glanced sideways and noticed that it was indeed a bit swollen, but she couldn't admit that she had accidentally caused it while trying to save her. Instead, she shifted the blame onto the thugs.
Shaking her head quickly, she said, "I don't know. Your face was like that when I rescued you. Here, apply this. It works pretty well." With that, she took out a bottle of ointment that Lady Shiva had given her and tossed it over.
Turning her head, she happened to see Barbara's swollen forehead, which looked like a horn. This seemed to be her doing as well. She felt a bit guilty and tossed another bottle over. "This one's for you. It'll reduce the swelling quickly."
Barbara had been listening to her talk all along and caught the tube that was tossed to her. Speaking behind someone's back without them knowing was one thing, but she had to be polite and considerate face-to-face. After all, this was the person who had saved her and her father's lives.
"Thank you, thank you for saving us," Barbara said politely. "Have you returned to the campus? Did you see Robin?"
Thea sighed. "I didn't see him. The security there is too tight. I couldn't break in alone. I'm sorry."
Seeing Barbara silent, Thea didn't bother with her and turned to Felicity. "Can the drone still be used? I haven't seen Selina. Can you find her quickly?"
"Oh, Selina. She... she probably hasn't returned to the campus. She's been outside all along. I'll contact her right away!" Felicity's head was still a bit dizzy, and after thinking for a while, she couldn't come up with any more nonsense, so she simply took out her phone and made the call.
Since when did they both become so close? Thea found it strange. These two had almost nothing in common. One couldn't stand leaving home, while the other would die of boredom staying indoors. The fact that they could strike up a conversation despite such vastly different lifestyles could only mean that their true natures were quite similar.
"Hurry and ask her to come back," Thea didn't care for the trivialities. The urgent task at hand was to gather all available forces and then make a coordinated push to eliminate the pests that were disrupting her plans for Gotham's safety and unity!
At this point, she couldn't afford to worry about issues of command authority. She had been to the scene three times already, and she knew it best. There was no time to consult everyone's opinions.
"Commissioner Gordon, how many officers can you still gather? I need them at the scene in half an hour," Thea said sternly, looking at the old commissioner.
"You're going again?" Commissioner Gordon was startled by her determination. How many times has it been tonight already? But considering that an outsider, a young girl at that, being so eager to charge into danger made him, as a Gothamite, feel compelled to keep up. After a quick calculation, he replied, "About twenty or so."
"That's enough. Help Felicity coordinate and have them head directly to the campus," Thea instructed. The old commissioner's combat effectiveness might have been decent in his younger days, but now he was no better than an average person. Providing support from the rear was the best option.
"Barbara, rest for twenty minutes to regain your strength, then change into your combat gear. We're going to rescue the people," Thea instructed.
"Has Felicity contacted Selina yet? Tell her to come back quickly," she added.
"Agent Lyla." Sia was enjoying giving orders when she suddenly realized she couldn't command this agent. She stopped halfway through her sentence.
"I'll go with you. I have five agents with me, and I can also call in an armed helicopter immediately, but there are too many civilians there, so it can only serve as a deterrent." Layla quickly picked up the conversation and expressed full support for Thea's arrangements.
No one had any objections. Commissioner Gordon and the others were accustomed to following Batman's orders, and such habits couldn't be changed in a short time. Now it was just a change of person, and since Thea had saved their lives, they didn't see anything wrong with letting her take command.
Barbara's sole focus was on rescuing her boyfriend. She doesn't care who was in charge. Although she was still a bit unsteady on her feet, she followed the instructions to change into her combat gear. In reality, her suit was left at the campus, so she had to make do with a long whip and a face mask.
Thea began discussing the distribution of firepower with the commissioner, and Layla joined in halfway. Due to the limited number of gas masks, only five could provide complete protection, while the rest were just basic versions. Whether they could provide effective protection was uncertain due to insufficient data, according to several technicians.
For the time being, they could only let the officers wear standard masks to provide cover on the periphery, while the actual work had to be done by the heroes. This may have been the theme of that world after all. Thea, although puzzled as to why it had come full circle back to individual heroism, knew this was the only way to proceed.
Moreover, looking at the ragtag bunch around her, it seemed like she had to take the lead again. Helping out had turned into a main role. It was almost like when Broxigar helped chop down the grunts and, getting carried away, struck Sargeras with his axe.
"Chief, we've got the information. It was Scarecrow who spread the fear toxin and attacked the camp." A nondescript agent hurried over to report.
Scarecrow! How could it be him? How did she and her group get bested by such a low-grade threat? Thea felt like her anger could no longer be contained. It was like she went into the mountains fully equipped to hunt a tiger, only to be bitten by a wild dog without seeing the tiger. She couldn't stand it anymore.
Perhaps her gaze was a bit intimidating, as the agent reporting took a step back unconsciously but still spoke in a low voice, "They planned to transport all the hostages after daybreak. As for where they were going, he didn't know."
There was no time to waste. They had to act immediately. No one knew if they'd transport the hostages early, especially since she'd already stirred up trouble three times. They probably wouldn't risk waiting until daybreak.
"Barbara, we have to leave early. How much of your strength have you regained?" Thea was really at a loss now. Apart from herself, it seemed like Barbara was the only one who could fight. Despite her doubts about Barbara's abilities, there was truly no one else available.